Chapter 257: Rules

Players responsible for perimeter security saw dozens of people riding armored war horses arriving at the stadium.

Other onlooking players whispered, “Who are these people?”

“Who else could be in Dragon Roar City now? The civilians have all been killed by the frenzied. They’re either frenzied or players,” one player said.

The frenzied they referred to were the Fear Emperor’s pawns—Ability Users.

“Judging by their demeanor, they should be players, and their strength is likely not weak,” a player from a scouting squad didn’t even dare to use a Perception skill, avoiding alerting Jack and his group.

“Exactly. Look at their spirit, equipment, and war horses—they’re clearly experts at a glance. Let’s step back a bit and avoid getting caught up in that fool Wu Qi’s mess, so they don’t mistake us for being on his side,” the captain of the earlier squad whispered.

Seeing some retreat, other player teams from Wuwu County followed suit, collectively stepping back to clear a path.

“Heh, this is what they call ‘those who lose the Way find few supporters.’ Who told you, Wu Qi, to bully the weak and oppress us?” a player muttered quietly.

Finally, one of Wu Qi’s underlings noticed the slowly advancing cavalry and shouted loudly, “Who goes there?”

This caught Wu Qi’s attention. He withdrew the simple blade he was about to swing at the Aberrant Beast and roared, “What’s all this noise? Don’t disturb me while I’m grinding mobs.”

“General Wu, someone’s coming, and their Level isn’t low,” Xiaomei, who possessed a Perception skill, looked at Wu Qi with a complicated expression.

“Are they players? If they’re players, tell them to get lost. This is General Wu’s territory,” Wu Qi waved his hand, signaling not to bother him.

Now Xiaomei understood. Without hesitation, she quickly hid in the shadows, ignoring the impending storm.

On Jack’s side, a Frontline Team captain said, “The opponents are weak, just like you—all a bunch of Newbies.”

“We’re not Newbies anymore. We’ve cleared many Instance Dungeons,” Chu Feng, riding on his horse, retorted indignantly.

Jack continued, “He doesn’t mean your raw strength, but your combat awareness. You’ve been too well-protected by Kamiyu and don’t know basic combat modes—or rather, you don’t know the combat modes normal players should.”

The twenty or so Newcomer Players from the Student Legion who had followed along all let out surprised “oh” sounds.

“Let me give you some extra advice so you’ll know what to do when you have to act alone in the future.”

“First, the players responsible for security aren’t hidden. They’re standing openly on the street. Look, some are even sitting on chairs playing with their phones.”

“Can they still play without a signal?” Chu Feng interjected.

“The guard captain is speaking. No interruptions,” a Frontline Team member snapped.

Chu Feng shrank his neck back.

“Second, they casually use Perception skills without being prepared for combat. In PVP between players, Perception skills shouldn’t be used casually. Using one is like declaring you’re ready to fight. Someone among them used a Perception skill on us, and it’s been five minutes now, yet no one has come forward or retreated. That’s incredibly rude behavior.”

“Because it leaves us unsure whether they have hostile intentions, even if they’re secretly farming our mining Instance Dungeon.”

“So that’s how it is,” the members of the Student Legion nodded in understanding.

Chu Feng thought in surprise, “So Big Brother Jack never took the other side seriously. The purpose of coming this time was to teach the Student Legion members, helping them grow quickly so they can stand on their own and assist Miss Kamiyu.”

“Mhm, now is precisely the time when capable people are needed. We’re already very lucky to be under Miss Kamiyu’s command. We can’t relax too much or rely entirely on her. We must work hard to level up.” Many people shared similar thoughts.

If they weren’t coming over, then Jack’s side would go to them.

As Jack’s war horse approached the stadium, a throwing knife shot over and embedded itself in the ground before his horse’s hooves.

“Step forward, and you die,” Wu Qi said, flexing arrogantly.

The other players from Wuwu County all tensed up. After grinding the instance dungeon over a dozen times, Wu Qi had reached Level 13, and his entire demeanor had changed.

Wu Qi’s subordinates quickly gathered around, loudly cheering for him: “The gang boss is awesome!” “The gang boss is so cool!”

The Student Legion members were furious. This mining area instance dungeon was clearly theirs first, and the weapons and armor these people were holding and wearing were all items they had obtained earlier under Kamiyu’s leadership.

Using their own weapons to grind their own instance dungeon, and now issuing threats without even saying a word? These people were even more arrogant and overbearing than a triad.

The frontline team members had already drawn their weapons, ready to teach these rule-breakers a lesson about the rules of Crimson Earth.

But the next moment, as if he hadn’t seen the throwing knife at his feet or heard Wu Qi’s threats, Jack rode his war horse forward without a care.

Seeing this, the other team members followed Jack’s lead, urging their armored war horses forward, one after another, crossing over the warning throwing knife.

The other players from the Wuwu County team smirked and said, “This tall guy has guts. He’s definitely a top player. Wu Qi has kicked an iron plate this time.”

“Serves him right. This is clearly another player’s territory. Issuing threats without even negotiating first—does he really think he’s the strongest?”

Wu Qi’s face flushed with humiliation, veins bulging on his neck. This tall guy’s actions were trampling on his pride, treating his words as nothing but hot air.

“This place has been taken over by us. I’m warning you for the last time—leave now, or you’ll regret it,” Wu Qi threatened.

Issuing threats only lowered one’s status, and such tasks didn’t fall to Jack. Chu Feng spoke up first: “We say the same to you. Do you even know whose territory this is?”

“Whose?”

“This is Lady Kamiyu’s territory. According to the rules of Crimson Earth, the player who discovers an instance dungeon first has priority in grinding it,” a frontline team member explained the rules to them.

In simple terms, it was first come, first served. If others wanted to join later, since instance dungeons didn’t restrict the number of participants, they could take turns or team up, distributing the spoils of war based on damage dealt. That was why there were rarely disputes over instance dungeons in Crimson Earth—except for the Official Player Faction of the Bopomo Kingdom.

“Kamiyu? What kind of messy name is that? Never heard of it. Crimson Earth? What the hell is that? I don’t understand. All I know is, this is my territory,” Wu Qi spat a thick glob of phlegm on the ground.

Hearing the other side insult Kamiyu, everyone was filled with righteous indignation. “Looking for death?” “Dare to insult Lady Kamiyu?” “I’ll kill you.”

Jack even put away the Doombringer and took out the Endless Fury Gauntlets—a lower grade but many times more painful—and put them on.